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In-Depth Information
even the powerful Bettino Craxi (prime minister between 1983 and 1989), who rather than
face a trial in Italy fled to Tunisia in 1993. He was subsequently convicted in absentia on
corruption charges and died in self-imposed exile in January 2000.
Tangentopoli
left Italy's entire establishment in shock, and as the economy faltered -
high unemployment and inflation combined with a huge national debt and an extremely
unstable lira - the stage was set for the next act in Italy's turbulent political history.
The Borgias, led by family patriarch Rodrigo, aka Pope Alexander VI (r 1492−1503), were one of Renais-
sance Rome's most notorious families. Machiavelli is said to have modelled
Il Principe
(The Prince) on
Rodrigo's son, Cesare, while his daughter, Lucrezia, earned a reputation as a femme fatale with a pen-
chant for poisoning her enemies.
Chief among the actors were Francesco Rutelli, a suave media-savvy operator who
oversaw a successful citywide cleanup as mayor of Rome (1993−2001), and the larger-
than-life media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, whose three terms as prime minister (1994,
2000-06 and 2008-11) were dogged by controversy and scandal.
